The link between a lack of downtime and disordered eating

It's no secret that downtime is good for our general happiness and mood. But relaxing or catching up with friends could also be a useful treatment for binge eating and other eating disorders.

A university student recovering from an eating disorder recently posted online about slipping off the recovery bandwagon and binge eating for three days straight amidst a hectic schedule of studying and working.

Her therapist's advice was to allow herself some downtime because eating appeared to be the only thing that she did for herself.

"As soon as she said it, I could see how true it was," she wrote on Reddit.

"I'm a full-time college student with two jobs and I honestly cannot remember the last time I spent time with my friends or did something fun. It feels like I'm always rushing from one thing to the next and I didn't realise what a toll that had."

Loren Byford, Eating Disorders Victoria psychologist, told Coach that downtime is really important for everyone – particularly people with a history of eating disorders – in order to achieve balance.

"Doing things for yourself that you enjoy and that produce feelings of relaxation and calmness are crucial for good health. To orientate to health means to incorporate balance, not just in regard to food and exercise, but work and leisure too."

Byford says part of the problem these days is our obsession with being “super busy” – we often fall into the trap of assuming that being flat stick implies we're driven, hardworking and successful.

"However being super busy involves rushing from one thing to the next – it leads to reacting not responding," Byford explains.

"Allowing yourself the time to meet all your needs will assist you to make decisions that are in alignment with your values."

It makes sense on a purely practical level too. When you free up some of your timetable, you're more likely to prioritise healthy food shopping and exercise, rather than getting home at an ungodly hour and losing yourself and a spoon in a tub of ice-cream.

"Binge eating can be distressing," Byford says.

"Quite often the person feels out of control when eating and commonly this is followed by feelings of shame and guilt, leading to distress."

So giving yourself time to enjoy things other than food can be really important.

"Developing ways to lift your mood that do not involve food will reduce the likelihood of psychological illnesses developing," Byford says.

How we wind down isn't important – what matters is allowing time in our weeks for things that we enjoy so that we have the mental capacity to make healthy food and exercise decisions.

"Downtime can mean different things for different people," Byford says.

"Gardening, reading, meditating and daydreaming can all be examples of downtime … as long as it has the overall effect of producing feelings of enjoyment and relaxation, and ultimately has a restorative effect."